Fall seems like a great time to tackle a good fantasy, doesn’t it? And since we focus so much on new books, let’s give the backlist on our shelves some love. Your tweens will love these great fantasies, and you’ll want to read them yourself!
Christina Diaz Gonzalez’s Moving Target is a thrill ride from start to finish. It tells the story of Cassie, an American student in Rome, who thinks her family is totally normal and that her dad is just a regular old art history professor–until someone tries to kill him. That’s when Cassie finds out she’s from an ancient bloodline that allows her to use an artifact that can alter the future. And now she has to run from a secret society that wants it very badly.
And if you loved it? Never fear, the second book just came out last month.
Breadcrumbs is the story of Hazel and Jack, whose friendship has ended. Hazel’s mom tries to tell her that sometimes that’s just what happens with boys and girls when they grow up, but Hazel knows better. And she’s right: Jack’s heart has been frozen, and he was stolen in the woods to live in a palace made of ice. Now it’s up to Hazel to save him and bring him home, even if both of them are utterly changed in the process.
Stefan is an apprentice to his father, the toymaker, until his world is turned upside down. His dad is kidnapped and Stefan, along with his mysterious cousin, must find a magical nut to save a princess who’s been turned into a doll. An adventure through Germany ensues, and they must save the princess and Stefan’s dad before time runs out. Based on the inspiration for the Nutcracker ballet!
Sand wakes up alone in a long-abandoned castle, and he can’t get out. All the stories said the place had been ruined by earthquake, but EVERYTHING inside is torn, broken, and slashed completely to bits. When he teams up with the castle’s lost heir, they realize that the only way they can get out is to fix what has been broken. But that’s going to apply to more than the castle and its contents.
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Our cross-poster is Ally Watkins (@aswatki1). Ally is a library consultant at the Mississippi Library Commission.